Violets in Vegas: Solitary Man
by the morrighan
Summary: Detective John Sheppard races to save the world and the woman he loves.  The conclusion to this series.
1. Chapter 1

Violets in Vegas: Solitary Man

_Two songs. There were two songs playing in my head, interweaving, intercutting with each other. I was getting knocked for six and I had to concentrate and not react. The Wraith can get inside your head, you see. I couldn't let Todd see what was in my head. I had to act on necessity, not emotion. I had to wipe my mind of everything and keep my cards close to my vest. I had to keep playing those two fucking songs until I got what I wanted. _

**7:37pm**

"I've been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain…"

Detective John Sheppard stared dumbly. He was on his knees in a deep depression in the earth, in the middle of the God-forsaken desert fighting not for his life but for the life of the woman he loved. He was trying to subdue the only thing that could save her; a space alien that had nearly drained her of life and vitality and years. He stared dumbly as the knife entered the Wraith's gut. It should have been a disabling wound, almost a killing wound.

It would have killed a human. But this was no human. This was a Wraith, a horrible genetic amalgamation of human and Iratus bug, and it had just fed which rendered it stronger and able to heal super swiftly.

Todd chuckled. He backhanded John. The blow sent the man flying as he lost hold of the knife. Todd pulled the knife out of his stomach, threw it aside with contemptuous ease. "John Sheppard. You cannot kill me. You cannot defeat me. What do you hope to do?"

John rolled to his feet, wiping blood off his mouth. "I hope to kill you," he snarled, keen gaze tracking the knife as it lay embedded in the dirt near the mouth of the crater. The silver blade shone in the orange and purple light falling down from the otherwise pitch black sky.

Todd slowly moved towards him, as if he had all the time in the world. Which he did have. "You want to kill me? No. You want me to save your mate. But it is too late for that. Too late for the gift of life if I were inclined to bestow it."

John kept his emotions locked in a deep, dark place. "In that case I may as well kill you then," he said. His voice was calm, so calm and cold it made Todd stop in his tracks. John smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant smile. He balled his hands into fists and lunged at the Wraith, but instead of his hands he used his legs and gave the creature a vicious kick to the mid-section.

Todd fell backwards, startled by the unexpected move. He had underestimated the human in front of him. He was hard to read, even harder to control as his mind was nothing but a series of words and music and everything else was blocked, was hidden.

John didn't hesitate. He had the advantage, however briefly and he acted upon it. He threw himself onto Todd and began to pummel him, fists flying, knees squeezing the creature's torso under him. He looked round but the knife was out of reach and his gun was somewhere lost outside of the crater. John paused only to grab a big rock and slammed it down towards Todd's head, at that moment not knowing how far a Wraith's regenerative powers extended and not really caring.

Todd lurched and the rock hit the hard ground instead of his head. The impact jarred John's arms and Todd shoved the man off him. John flew, fell, rolled and sprang to his feet but he was suddenly alone in the crater.

John stared round, catching his breath, tasting blood. Aches and pain assaulted him but when he caught sight of Todd leaping out of the crater he followed, only pausing to grab the knife on the way. He began to climb out of the hole in the earth.

His progress was slow. He was leaving a bloody trail from his knee and his sore hands grasped at the dirt and the remains of a rope ladder from the excavation. It was painful, but John could ignore the pain. He hauled himself over the edge and rolled onto his back. The sky above him was a black mass as the auroras were fading in lazy waves of light. Although it was night the air was still warm and the wind whistled around him like hot exhalations.

He took a moment to catch his breath. To stare at the ominous sky and to wonder what it all meant. To wonder if McKay had succeeded in destroying the machine that had been triggered to open the rift in space/time. There was an army of Wraith just waiting to invade this reality, this world and John hoped that those plans had been dashed.

He had more immediate, personal concerns out here.

John moved to his feet, looking round and spotted the gun. "Todd!" he called. His voice sounded raw. It was snatched by the wind and lost in the desolation of the desert. John moved to the gun. He grabbed it, checked the clip. The weapon was a reassuring metal weight in his hand, familiar. It gave him confidence, as did the knife at his back, but he believed the gun would do more damage. At least he hoped it would.

There weren't many rounds left.

A coyote howled. He looked up suddenly and saw the Wraith heading away from him. Todd's motions were jerky but he was quickly recovering from whatever minor damage John had inflicted. John silently cursed to himself and began to hasten after him. He had to catch the creature.

It was Moira's only hope for survival.

Carson Beckett drove like a madman. Under normal circumstances he was the most cautious and law-abiding of drivers, but these weren't normal circumstances so he drove like the devil was after him. Which in a way, he was, but with any luck John would catch and subdue the devil and bring him to the hospital to save Moira O'Meara and the baby beginning to form inside her.

He had debated staying there, in the desert and trying to keep Moira alive with what limited medical supplies he had in his kit. Todd would be that much closer, after all. But more than likely she would have died before John could bring Todd to them, so Carson had opted to get her to a hospital where he could stabilize her and keep her alive. Even find a way to slow the inevitable progress of her death and wait for John to bring the Wraith to them.

It had been like being between a rock and a hard place. Each choice having its pros and cons, and Carson could only pray he had made the correct decision.

He chanced a look at Moira. She was slumped in the passenger seat. Only the seatbelt held her upright as her head lolled to one side. Her gaze vacant, unseeing but she was still alive. "Hold on, love! You keep fighting! You keep fighting for that wee babe inside you! John will get Todd and make him cure you! Hold on, Moira, please hold on!"

If he said it enough times she might believe it. He might. But he was a doctor and try as he might he couldn't pretend that things would be fine. That the baby or Moira or both would survive any longer.

He had seen other victims of the Wraith. The murdered remains were of dry, aged husks of what had been formerly vibrant human lives. He had seen the effect even a minimal feeding had on a volunteer to keep Todd alive when he had been confined in a cell. It took hours for the victim to recover from only a partial, quick feeding.

And Moira had been more than a partial, quick feeding.

Carson fought past the lump in his throat and sped through the desert. There were no city lights to guide him. No lights at all and he found that odd, disturbing. But he wouldn't let it distract him from saving Moira's life, from saving the baby's if he could. He was already going over what he would need and what inventory the nearest hospital would have that he could use.

He had to find a way to sustain her life, to keep her heart beating, her lungs breathing, to safeguard her brain and keep her viable until John brought the Wraith to them to heal her. He tried not to think of what to do then. He tried not to think of how they were going to force Todd to heal Moira, to restore what he had stolen from her. He would think of that when the time came. He would think of any contingencies that might crop up and be ready for them.

The car lights flickered but he kept driving.


	2. Chapter 2

Violets in Vegas: Solitary Man2

_I kept going. I'm a stubborn son of a bitch, or so I've been told, and I felt like hell but I kept going. I knew Moira was depending upon me and only me to save her. I refused the thought that I was already too late, but it haunted me anyway. A tiny voice that I swallowed like bile. I kept my focus on my objective and nothing else._

_The world could go to hell for all I cared._

_I was already there…or soon would be._

**7:39pm**

"_Don't know that I will but until I can find me…"_

"Todd!" John was slowly catching up to the Wraith. He held the gun concealed behind his jacket as it flapped open at his side, fluttered by the hot wind. "Todd, you've failed! Your fucking invasion won't happen! We stopped it! Like I'm going to stop you!" As the Wraith turned to see him John dropped. He became just another shadow in the darkness.

Todd looked round, but didn't see the human. He squinted to make his eye slits open even wider to allow as much light as possible but the blacks and grays were indistinguishable shapes in the desert sands. "John Sheppard, you will see. I am letting you live so you will see the devastation of your world. As much as I would like to feed upon your sweet anguish I will wait."

There was no reaction. Nothing but the wind howling. Dirt devils whirled and spun, choking the hot air. Todd frowned. He began to head in the direction of John's voice, oddly concerned. He wondered if at last the human had fallen. He had forgotten how vulnerable and weak these humans really were, even ones like John Sheppard. Todd knew he would have to kill the man. He was just too dangerous to be left alive for too long.

Stranding him in the desert seemed the most humane choice, and when the time was right Todd could return and retrieve him. And feed as he longed to do. But if the human was gravely injured he might not get the chance.

"John Sheppard?" he asked.

John remained silent, still. Watching as the Wraith got closer, closer. He stroked the trigger on the gun, waiting. He had to be closer. The moment had to be just right for the exact shot. Not to kill but to at least mortally wound. To give him the edge he desperately needed and give him time to get the damn thing to Moira before he could heal himself. John wished he had backup, any kind of backup but he was alone and it fell upon him to get this done now.

Todd had just come into range, his angular face eerily lit by the dancing auroras when the ground shook. Another earthquake rumbled like thunder in the sky. Todd staggered. John leapt to his feet, taking the shot anyway as he tried to keep his balance. The gun was loud in the night. Shot after shot until the ground shook so violently both man and Wraith fell into the dirt.

There was a horrible rending sound and both looked over at the crater. To their amazement it was expanding, a living maw ready to devour them both. They exchanged a glance and stumbled to their feet as the widening crack in the earth raced towards them.

"Shit!" John exclaimed, backpedaling away from it as the crack became a crevasse and separated the two enemies. He fired his gun but Todd was ducking, diving to avoid the bullets and the opening in the earth. But another aftershock hit and he tumbled into the opening, a yell on his lips as he fell.

"NO!" John bellowed, racing after him. He lunged to grab the Wraith's arm, falling hard onto his stomach. He slid along the dirt and only his shoe catching on some scrub yanked him back from falling as well. Pain jerked along his wrist but he kept a death grip on the creature's arm.

Todd scrambled, looked up at his would-be savior and laughed. "John Sheppard. You will save me instead of letting me fall to my death?"

"Yeah, so haul ass now!" John ordered through gritted teeth. He pulled and pulled.

Todd shoved and clawed, his feet digging but the earth was soft and the dirt kept giving way under his assault. The ground was shaking again, the vibrations making it hard to keep still or to gain any purchase. "I will miss you, John Sheppard."

"No! You bastard, no! You are not going out until I say so!" John pulled with all his might.

The ground abruptly became still. Todd scrambled and climbed, then seemingly flew over John to safety. John rolled onto his back, his arm screaming in pain but he sat and fluidly drew the gun. Fired into Todd. The Wraith cried out, falling, his exclamation of surprise oddly musical.

John threw the gun aside as it was empty. He hastened to the Wraith as it lay on the ground, a mess of blood and shredded clothing. It was wheezing, and John wondered if he had punctured a lung. He hoped he had. That would surely weaken it long enough for him to get it to his car, wherever the hell it was. He wondered if he could make it that far.

They would have to circle round the crevasse and that would take time. Too much time. John swore, seeing no other way. Seeing no other option. He fumbled in his pants' pocket and felt the reassuring presence of his car keys. He could find his car. No problem.

He drew the knife once more.

Evan Lorne's feet slid as the observatory of the Stratosphere began to shake violently. There wasn't much left of the building and he grabbed the remains of the wall before he slid out and fell a very long way to the street. The whole building was trembling and he didn't know if it was another earthquake or a sonic boom or some other catastrophe to ruin a very bad day and night. He only knew he had to hang on for dear life again as he stared at the darkness of the night sky and the darkness of the city below him.

There was not a single light in Vegas.

The helicopter had veered away from the building and with it the lights too. Evan couldn't see past the ledge at his feet. But he remembered where the light had been. He remembered the strap of the backpack hanging on a warped iron beam. "McKay!" he shouted.

Evan leaned over the edge, veered back as he heard voices behind him. He turned. "You! Give me some light over here now!"

The marine advanced as the tower shook again. He fell. The flashlight rolled and Evan snagged it before it tumbled out of the building. He clung to the wall as more of the ceiling crashed down. An iron beam was bending but it held and so far the room was relatively intact.

"Lorne! What the hell are you doing?" Steven Caldwell barked, standing in the doorway. "Stand down!"

"No! I think McKay might be out there!"

"What? How?"

"Backpack! Oh shit."

Part of the wall across from Evan broke away. It didn't crumble. It just fell into the air and plummeted to the street. The tower veered, rocking like a carnival ride. More of the ceiling fell and the tiles clattered, snapping and sending plaster into the air.

It felt like the whole observatory was going to collapse at any moment. It swayed in the wind and horrible groaning noises were coming from the infrastructure. So far the building was holding but it was only a matter of time before it gave way to gravity and the elements.

The hapless man on the floor slid across and was gone. There was nothing for him to grab to save himself. The room had been wiped clean by a vicious whirlwind. His gun skittered across the floor and flew after him.

Steven clung to the doorframe as the floor wobbled, wobbled like a spinning top. He felt sick, as if he were on a roller coaster. "Hamon no! Damn it!" Steven swore at the loss of his marine. He blamed the man who was stubbornly remaining. "Lorne, get the hell outta there now!"

"No! I think McKay is out there! McKay!"

Evan leaned, flashing the light along the backpack strap. There was a body swinging there. He couldn't tell if it was alive or dead. He reached for the strap.

The flashlight wobbled but he kept reaching.


	3. Chapter 3

Violets in Vegas: Solitary Man3

_I had him! He was my prisoner now. I would save Moira; well rather he would, and then once the world was saved all would be well. Then, and only then would I kill this son of a bitch and end this nightmare once and for all!_

_I was dead wrong. Fairy tale endings only happen in books._

**7:42pm**

"_In the desert you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain…"_

John worked quickly. He knew how to subdue violent criminals and as luck would have it he had a pair of handcuffs in his jacket pocket. He rolled the struggling Wraith onto his back and cuffed his wrists together. He stabbed the creature in the side a few times, aiming carefully for vital organs. He was using the injuries to slow it down, to keep it relatively docile.

John hauled Todd to his feet and shoved. "Let's go, fucker! Move!" John shoved but kept hold of the Wraith's arm.

They began their long trek across the desert, back towards John's car.

The darkness of the desert swallowed them. The auroras were fading lights, orange and purple twinkles that grew fainter and fainter with each appearance. The air was still warm. The wind was hot and biting as it blew dust all around them. Grit and dirt clung to their clothing, to their skin. It irritated their injuries.

Their feet stumbled over the scrub, the rocks, and the detritus of the desert sands as they made their way along the crevasse. Todd was wheezing in that weird sing-song voice. John was hardly doing any better, taking deep gulps of the warm air. Every breath made his ribs ache. Every step made his knee throb.

"I cannot save her, John Sheppard."

John's grip tightened on the Wraith's arm but he said nothing. Guiding them along the increasingly narrow cut in the earth. Soon they would be able to step across it and then make better progress towards John's car. The wind whistled in his ears and he shook his head to clear it, to clear it of the annoying sound and the taunt of his prisoner. But Todd continued talking.

"I cannot save your mate."

"You saved me," John retorted at last. His voice was curt, almost bitter. "You were forced to save me. You were a prisoner. You are a prisoner again and I will force you."

"You can try, but too much time has passed. The gift of life can only be given if there is a spark of life left. The silence between heartbeats has been too long now."

"No." A single word, but the emotion behind it made a lump form in John's throat. He fought past it, swallowed it. "Here." They crossed over the crack in the ground and John pulled him in the right direction. At least he hoped it was the right direction. It was so damn dark now it was hard to tell. John glanced up at the sky but it was a blanket of darkest night. No stars twinkled. The orange and purple auroras were like a gauzy curtain.

"The Wraith can dispense the gift of life, but we cannot raise the dead. When you were brought to me you were on the brink of death, but you had enough life in you for me to find and take and give and take and give again. I wanted to save you, John Sheppard. Because I knew."

John nearly tripped as Todd suddenly stopped. "Knew? Knew what?" he snapped. Only then did he notice that the handcuffs were open and that Todd had lulled him into a sloppy complacency. At the same moment Todd turned to him, smiled. Shrugged free of his grasp and drew his hands in front of him. The handcuffs fell to the ground, broken.

"I knew that we would end up here, like this. I knew that you would be my most implacable enemy. You have no idea how rich that hatred, that defiance tasted when I took your miserable life. How bitter it was to give it all back to you. It will be even richer now. Even richer…" His voice was soft, a caress in John's ear as if he meant to seduce compliance instead of forcing it.

John swallowed. Abruptly he was scared and he fought past it. "No. I'd rather die first."

Todd smiled. "Once I have my fill, you will, human. You will."

Elizabeth Weir fought her way past the rush of policemen and security and firemen. She was on the streets of Vegas now, clear of the ruins of the Stratosphere but still close enough to see the observation tower as it dangerously swayed. She gestured and the marines moved with her. Their TAC vests and weaponry cowed most of the people to get out of the way. "Damn it!" she glared at her cell phone. "I can't reach Woolsey! Where the hell is he? I can't reach Sheppard either! Where is everyone?"

"Whoa, what's happening up there?" Chuck Campbell shoved his way to the attractive woman, both awed and allured by her military bearing.

"You!" Elizabeth scowled. "Give me your cell phone!"

Chuck complied, scenting a story. "Tell me what the hell is going on."

"The end of the fucking world, all right? Scoot!" She turned away from him, pressing buttons. She held the phone to her ear. "At least the satellites are still operating," she muttered. "Ah. I need to speak to General O'Neill, now! Tell him it's Weir!"

Chuck was furiously scribbling on a pad of paper as he listened. ARC lights illuminated the scene of the hotel's destruction. The fire had been quenched but the smoke lingered, a gray phantasm in the black sky. Chuck balanced his penlight under his chin as he wrote and wrote. Anxious to get the scoop, whatever it could be. "General O'Neill…army?"

"Air Force," Elizabeth corrected. She saw no need to dissemble now. "Jack? It's Liz. Yeah, me too. The situation's getting worse and we need backup now. No, we're down, the whole state is down and you better get that Stargate up and running because this is going south fast!"

"Stargate?" Chuck muttered, curious. He shook his head. He knew he could trace the call once he got his phone back, but the lingo was foreign to him.

"Okay, then," Elizabeth replied, "but we're running scarce on ATA users at the moment. I'll try to round up what we have. I can't reach Woolsey but if you think a naquadah will do it then by all means send it! Roger that!" She handed the phone to Chuck. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. What was that about? A Stargate? ATA? Naquadah? Exactly what is going on besides a significant astronomical event?"

Elizabeth smiled at him. "I hope you don't find out. We need to contain this now! Let's go!" She gestured and the marines followed her down the street.

"Wait!" Chuck ran after them. "I deserve to know! I deserve the scoop on this! You can't stop the press from reporting on the news! What is—"

A boom sounded. It was similar to thunder but louder, impossibly louder. It was almost as if a bomb had gone off and everyone froze, expecting to see a mushroom cloud in the sky. There was nothing but blackness. Not a single light had flickered. No power resumed. There was a burst of color suddenly. A spectacular aurora, waves of orange and purple that flickered in a cloud formation, then burst apart in waves of undulating color that made people gasp and point.

People were holding up cell phones to take pictures of the amazing celestial event.

A hot wind was blowing. It fluttered Elizabeth's dark curls and she shoved them out of her face to view the sky. She stared, as captivated as everyone else by the display. The colors shone vividly on the battered white walls of the observatory, painting it in hues that blended and made it appear to be bleeding.

It appeared to be dying. It was a chilling thought.

The tower swayed in the wind, and Elizabeth heard the sudden groaning of the building. And she knew. She knew with terrible clarity what was about to happen. "Get back! Run! Run! It's gonna go!" She grabbed Chuck's arm but no one was moving. She pulled, trying to haul him to safety. "Get down now!"

Chuck wasn't moving but she kept pulling at his arm to get him to safety.


	4. Chapter 4

Violets in Vegas: Solitary Man4

_I should have known. Nothing is ever this easy, not that this was easy but I was so close to succeeding. I should have known it would all go to shit. _

_Story of my life._

**7:43pm**

"_The girl who'll stay and won't play games behind me…"_

Things happened in slow motion. Or so it seemed to John. It was if the turgid heat had smothered all his movements and had muffled his reactions. He raised the knife but he was too slow. He jabbed but Todd moved too swiftly, swerving out of the way and John found himself stabbing at empty air.

Suddenly the Wraith was behind him and John spun to face him but he was barely turning before Todd grabbed at his shoulders and flung him across the desert. John fell and rolled, tasting dirt and he spit, trying to move to his feet but Todd was abruptly there.

The first kick hit his mid-section, knocking the air out of John's lungs in a whoosh that fled from his lips. The second hit a rib but John rolled and avoided having the bone broken. The third hit his back and his kidneys protested the violent assault. John coughed and tasted blood.

Todd stood over the recalcitrant human, shaking his head. He was both impressed at the man's stubborn stamina and disappointed that John Sheppard still fought, still resisted. The Wraith glanced at the blackened sky and closed his eyes for a moment. He could feel it.

He could feel them.

He could feel the humming of other Wraith minds, but they were still far away. Todd breathed deeply of the hot air as the wind screamed around him. Dust whirled and coated his hair, his skin, but he didn't care. He was concentrating on the presence of others of his species, however distant they still were. It felt good, it felt right, and although he couldn't sense the Hive mind yet just knowing they were out there made him feel vindicated. Made him feel alive.

Todd couldn't feel a queen yet, but he knew she would be there, in a magnificent Hive ship and would richly reward him. The longing to be among others of his kind was so strong it nearly took his breath away. It was like a physical ache inside him.

A single tear sparkled in the corner of his eye and slid down his pale, pale cheek.

John rolled onto his side, suppressing a groan. He moved to his hands and knees. He knew he had to get to his feet before he was disabled, or worse. He looked up to see Todd towering over him, eyes closed, an almost beatific expression on his angular face. John couldn't begin to guess at the cause, and he really didn't care. For a moment he seemed to be forgotten. John realized he had two options. He didn't hesitate.

He snatched the knife from the ground and lurched to his feet.

He limped awkwardly into the night. He limped towards his car. He limped away from the Wraith. The darkness swallowed him. Hiding his guilt and his misery and his pain as he escaped from the creature determined to make him suffer.

But John wasn't running away. Moira's fate hung heavily on his shoulders. Every stuttering breath he took gained him time. Every awkward step away from the Wraith gave him a moment's respite from his injuries. Every inch of distance gave him room to think, to plot, to plan. To find a way to gain the advantage once and for all and to end this thing.

To fight.

Todd opened his eyes. He smiled, looking down to see the empty ground where John Sheppard had been. He raised his head to scan the darkness of the desert. He couldn't see the human, but he could hear him. The ragged, quick breaths. He could smell him. The taint of sweat and blood intermingling in a sweet aroma that made him salivate.

Todd flexed his fingers. The sucker in his palm was jerking, anxious and eager for the kill. Todd felt a hunger growing. To feed off this human would be exquisite, but something was missing. Some last ingredient which would pivot John Sheppard into the blackest of despair and destroy him. He was almost there now.

He realized what it was. The missing piece in the puzzle that would make the human his.

He began to follow after his prey.

Hendricks stood in the middle of the Strip, surrounded by cops and National Guards as he tried to direct them into some kind of order amid the chaos surrounding them. Vegas was a mess. Snared in utter darkness the city was bordering on complete lawlessness and panic. Crowds milled in the streets, not knowing what to do or where to go. Glass was breaking as looters took advantage and robbed several shops along the road. Security guards were standing at each casino entrance trying to maintain some kind of order but there was no order to be maintained.

It was getting close to becoming every man for himself.

A tremendous crash rent the air, and Hendricks swung towards the noise. It was another pileup of cars, all going in different directions at the same time and crashing because none would give way to the other. People were shouting and screaming. Gunfire rent the air in the distance. People were venting their rage and their fear on each other.

"Damn it! Go on! I want men on every bank and get the unis at the intersections!" Hendricks wiped his brow. It was still hot even after sunset. "Where the hell is Sheppard?" He cursed at his phone, as John wasn't returning his calls. Hendricks turned as a detective ran up to him. "What?" he snapped, glaring.

"It's worse! The power stations are completely dead and they can't get anything up and running!" Danville informed. "There's no ETA on when this will get fixed! All we have is what can run on batteries and our cell phones for the duration."

"Terrific. How massive is this power outage?"

"It started in Vegas and now has spread all across Nevada. So far it's contained within the state. What the hell could cause that?" Danville wondered.

"I have no idea! Do I look like a fucking electrician?"

Danville ignored the ire. "We're getting so many 911 calls the system is overrun! DeMouy is trapped in an elevator but firemen are working on getting her out of it. This thing happened so fast, without any warning…do you think it was a terrorist attack?"

"I don't know…Sheppard mentioned a terror threat to the power stations but I don't think even he was prepared for this."

"We've got fires breaking out all over the city and a water main broke at the Mirage and is flooding the entire area! We've got several vehicular accidents and the hospitals are overrun. Their backup generators aren't working either."

"Any more good news?" Hendricks snapped.

Danville shrugged. "I haven't seen that reporter anywhere."

Hendricks smiled briefly. "Good! That's one for us, then. Let's try to keep order here. I want a curfew in place now! I want it announced on every street, through radios and bullhorns. Shout if you have to just get these damn people into their homes or their hotels until this crisis is over!"

"And when it is over? Some people are saying it's the end of the world. Look at the sky, sir. It isn't right. Something's going on and we can't do a damn thing to stop it."

Hendricks eyed the sky. He wondered what was blanketing the stars and blocking all of the light. Auroras flared and faded. "When it's over we will have one hell of a clean-up job ahead of us, Danville. The world ain't ending on my watch, I can tell you that! Now let's get to work and get these people off the streets!"

"Yes, sir!" Danville sprinted across the road.

Hendricks watched him go. He glanced up at the sky again. It gave him a sick, queasy feeling although he didn't know why. He eyed his phone, pressing buttons. He scowled, trying to call John yet again.

The phone jumped to voicemail as he tried to call the detective.


	5. Chapter 5

Violets in Vegas: Solitary Man5

_I had only one chance. I had thrown everything into the pot. I had upped the ante and was risking everything on this one chance, this one moment. The stakes were high, impossibly high. I could almost feel Moira's life in my hands, and if I fucked this up it would be over. It would all be over, and I knew I couldn't survive another loss like that._

_Little did I know there was more at stake than just our two lives._

**7:45pm**

"_La la, la la la la, la la la, la la La la, la la la la , la la la, la la…"_

John loped to his car. He opened the door and slid into it, across the seats to pry open the glove compartment. To his utter relief his fingers closed around a 9mm handgun. He could have kissed it. Instead he withdrew it, checked to see it was loaded. He slithered out of the car and left the door wide open. He circled and dropped behind some scrub, hearing the Wraith approaching. The distinctive wheeze was loud as the wind softened to a gentle breath.

John clutched the gun tightly, willing his hands to be still. Willing his heart to slow and his breathing to ease. He became one with the night, as stealthy as the darkness that enfolded him. He licked his lips, wishing he had grabbed the bottle of whiskey that was also in the car. His throat was parched. His neck was sore from the Wraith's tight clutch when he had been strangled. Aches and pains flared now that he wasn't moving but he forced himself to think past it and concentrate on his objective.

A fleeting image of Moira asserted itself, not as he had last seen her when she was withered and aged almost beyond recognition but a more pleasing picture of her sprawled in their lilac bed. Rosy and flushed after enjoyable sex, the love in her brown eyes shining and washing over him in a palpable wave. He smiled at the memory, kept it close until he extinguished all thoughts of her as the Wraith came into view.

John slowly raised himself onto his knees, hunching down to blend into the scrub and the darkness. He raised the gun, holding it with both hands. He took careful, careful aim.

Todd sauntered towards the battered red car. "John Sheppard?" Todd tilted his head, peering into the vehicle. The door was wide open but the car was empty. He stepped closer, but suddenly froze. He looked round at the surrounding desert. The wind was moaning in the low scrub. It was full of many scents, including that of the man he hunted, but Todd wasn't quite sure of the direction. "You cannot win, John Sheppard. If you kill me, a hundred more will take my place. And a hundred more after that. And they will not be as lenient as I have been with you, human."

John bit back the retort on his lips. He carefully aimed at the Wraith's head, and then lowered to the neck, realizing he couldn't risk a killing shot. Not yet. His finger stroked the trigger and he slid the safety off the weapon. The click sounded loud to his ears but Todd didn't react. The Wraith still stood there, surveying the terrain in an effort to locate him.

John readied himself to take the shot…when his cell phone buzzed.

Two things happened at once. John fired the weapon, at the same time swinging his hand down to his back pocket to slap the phone into silence. At the same time Todd whirled, hearing the vibration and sprinted with terrifying speed towards his target.

The bullet hit, but sliced across the Wraith's jaw. Todd jerked with the hit, spun but kept coming in a burst of blurring speed. John had jumped to his feet when the Wraith was upon him and viciously slamming into him. They flew, fell across the ground and rolled, locked in a struggle between prey and predator.

Todd squirmed but John wouldn't let go. He slammed the Wraith's head into the ground over and over, sliding on top of him to keep him in place while he desperately scrambled for the gun. Todd shrieked in rage. The sound pierced John's hearing and made him wince. It was enough for Todd to fling the human off him, to leap to his feet and to advance, feeding hand outstretched. His palm was only inches from the human's unprotected chest.

John rolled onto his side, pivoted round and sat, the gun clutched in his hands. "Say goodbye, you son of a bitch!" he slurred past dirt and blood and pain.

He pulled the trigger.

Carson offered up a silent prayer as the hospital at last came into view. It had taken forever to navigate the crowded streets, taking detours around car crashes and traffic jams and crowds of people everywhere. There was utter darkness. There were no lights to guide him but Carson knew the way and drove steadily, even upon the sidewalk at times to get to the hospital faster.

"We're almost there, Moira! We're almost there! Hang on, love, please just hang on!" He glanced at Moira but she hadn't moved. There was no reaction to his words. Her brown eyes were open but unable to focus on anything, on anyone.

Carson bit his lower lip and sped along, nearly knocking into an emergency vehicle. He ignored the shouts and swearing and drove the car right up to the hospital.

Except it wasn't a hospital. In the darkness the one big building looked like every other.

To his consternation Carson had stopped at a library. He swore profusely and backed up the vehicle. He made his precarious way back to the road.

"Give me a rope, damn it!" Evan shouted. He turned to see Steven shouting for one. A few moments later Steven tossed him a rope, winding his end of it around his waist and giving the rest to the men behind him.

"You better be right about this!" Steven snapped.

"I am! McKay! McKay, can you hear me? Just hang on!" Evan scooted, scooted over the ledge. The wind caught him but he grabbed the iron beam to keep his balance. He adjusted the flashlight and shone it along the backpack strap. He lowered the light to reveal the blue backpack hanging in the wind. And suspended from the backpack was an inert body that could only be Rodney. "Got him! Rodney, can you hear me? Rodney you better not be dead after all of this or I will kill you! Give me some slack!" Evan shouted over his shoulder.

Feeling some give he scooted out a little more along the iron beam. He swayed as the building did and he dug his boots into the solid floor behind him. The wind whistled in his ears. Below him and above him was a continuous sea of blackness, but he didn't let it distract him.

The little flashlight's beam did not go beyond the form of the man swaying in the air. Evan couldn't make out a face or even if the man was alive or dead. He shone the light along the beam, seeing how the metal was bent and moving with the weight at the end of it. He could feel the structure groaning under him and it didn't give him much confidence.

Evan scooted, but froze. The light was playing along the backpack now, along the strap that was tenuously holding Rodney in place.

The fabric was fraying. The rip in the strap was becoming larger, larger. Evan could almost see the seams tearing one by one as the wind sought to grab this last prize and hurl Rodney to the street far, far below them.

"McKay, hang on!" Evan urged, his voice sounding hoarse. His throat closed up with fright but he swallowed past it. He could do this. He could do this. He knew if they lost McKay they had no chance in hell against whatever came through the time/space rift.

He knew they had no chance at all without the physicist.

He knew they had no chance at all.

Evan took a deep, calming breath. Released it. He made his precarious way along the beam.


	6. Chapter 6

Violets in Vegas: Solitary Man6

_I'm not a hero. I never was. At that moment I forgot all about Moira and just wanted to kill the bastard. I didn't care anymore. He was probably right, that Moira was already dead and I soon would be, so I may as well kill this fucking thing before that happened. _

_I didn't care anymore. I just wanted it to end. All of it to end. To end._

**7:49pm**

"_I'll be what I am A solitary man…a solitary man…"_

Todd saw the change in John Sheppard's eyes. There was a split second when his gaze changed from being the prey to being the predator. When the pain and despair were replaced with both iron resolve and a dark indifference. Those green eyes became two cold points of light that harbored nothing, nothing at all.

Todd moved too late. The bullet pierced his chest. The bullet pierced his heart. Todd felt the passage of it through his skin, his tissues, his organ and then its exit out his back. Blood was a spray both in front of him and behind him and he fell, toppling sideways. The expression of surprise on his face almost comical. His mouth opened but only a wheezing issued from his lips, as if words failed him.

John watched him fall. He kept the gun trained on the Wraith. John slowly rose to his feet. He stood over the twitching body, not exactly sure of what he had just done. He didn't know if he had killed the Wraith or not, and he didn't care. He only knew it wanted this done. At that moment he was thinking only of himself. He was exhausted, sore, injured in a hundred different places on his body and the thing he wanted most of all was a cold, cold beer.

He didn't think of Moira. He dismissed her from his mind. He didn't care if the world was ending or if the rip in space/time had been opened or not. He didn't think about his team or how the others were faring at the Stratosphere. He didn't care about how his fellow cops were handling the growing crisis in the city. All he wanted was that damn beer.

He could leave the thing here to die in the desert. It was only fitting since John himself had been left the same way. He could get in his car and just drive away. He could leave Vegas, leave Nevada. It wasn't much of a life to leave anyway.

Except the thought was a lie and he knew it. He wasn't the same man he had been when he had been dying on the desert sand months ago. He had things to lose now. He had an important job. He had people to lose. He had friends and a team assembled. Most of all he had Moira. Moira. Her name evoking memories like a fresh breeze, clearing his mind of all selfish, cowardly thoughts.

She could have gotten away from the Wraith. John had given her the chance. Instead she had remained and helped him get free of the creature's clutches. At a terrible, terrible cost.

John knew he couldn't leave. He knew he couldn't leave Vegas, or Nevada, or his job. He couldn't leave the woman he loved. He knew he couldn't have that beer just quite yet. He watched the Wraith and wondered if it was in its death throes. He glanced up at his car. It was only a few feet away from them.

A plan formed. He would dump Todd into the trunk and go hell bent for leather to reach Vegas. To reach the hospital. To reach Moira if there was any chance at all of saving her. If not at least Todd was well and truly dead.

John stuck the gun into the back of his pants. He grabbed Todd's arm and began to haul the Wraith across the distance to the car. Todd was heavy, wheezing. His blood left a dark track on the dirt as John dragged him along it.

Todd's eyes opened.

Elizabeth lifted her head. She was sprawled on top of Chuck Campbell, having been blown across the street by a tremendous blast. Plaster was sprayed across her, along with glass and dirt and grime. She moved to her feet, staring at the remains of the casino/hotel. Astoundingly the observatory still stood, but a chunk of the lower levels had collapsed in on itself and had actually lowered the building by a few feet. It was only a matter of time before the rest of it would follow.

Chuck Campbell was sitting at her feet, staring at the devastation around them. If not for the brave woman in front of him he would be dead, and he knew it. Huge chunks of masonry littered the ground like toys. Except that these toys had bodies under them. Cars were pancaked and a horn was bleating, bleating like a lost sheep.

Even in the darkness Chuck could see the gruesome carnage of bodies and body parts. Blood was a crimson river lining the streets. People were screaming, shouting, crying.

"Let's go."

Chuck looked up to see Elizabeth holding out a hand to him. Her beautiful face was grim, lined with grime. Chuck took her hand and hauled himself to his feet. He ducked to retrieve his hat, earning a quick smile from her. He shrugged. "Where to?"

"The facility. Our orders are to regroup and that's what we are going to do. If I can find my people, that is. Help me look."

"Of course! Um, thanks."

"No need. Let's go."

Chuck nodded and began to help Elizabeth in the precarious search for the remnants of her squad.

Hendricks was arguing, ordering, and gesticulating all at once. Cops were busy trying to maintain order and help people out of crashed vehicles. The National Guard was busy trying to maintain order and formed a defensive perimeter to prevent looters from entering the businesses lining the streets. Firemen were working on the sporadic fires. EM workers were tending to people as best they could.

An odd calm had descended, at least in this part of the city, as if the dancing lights in the sky had soothed people's nerves and made them see what was really going on around them. The air was hot, sticky. A wind whipped round but it was hot as well. It stank of smoke and plaster and fire and Hendricks knew this bad night was only going to get worse.

"Sayles!" he shouted, gestured, and the cop ran to him.

"Sir? We've got it locked down now, and they've got a little bit of power for the hospitals. Someone wheeled in a jenny and it's working, for now."

"Finally some good news!" Hendricks looked round at the mess. The ARC lights were illuminating the scene in sudden bursts of light that couldn't be sustained for long. "I'll be glad when the sun rises."

"So will we all, sir."

"Get your men and sweep the perimeter. Things are calming down so I think we'll be able to get these people back inside now. Calmly." Hearing a squeal he whirled, hand on his gun but it was only a group of girls playing in the fountain of water created by another broken hydrant. The panic was being replaced by a more jubilant mood. Only in Vegas, Hendricks thought with a smile.

"Yes, sir. Any word from Sheppard?"

"Not a damn word. He's not answering." Hendricks glanced at the sky. "I have a feeling he could be in trouble. But I don't know where the hell he is."

"Probably huddled with a drink somewhere, sir," Sayles jested.

"Yeah, I would have said that once, but not anymore. He's changed. Hell, we all will after this night." Hendricks sighed. Eyed his phone but it held no answers.

He began to walk along the street to issue more orders as he dialed his phone again.


	7. Chapter 7

Violets in Vegas: Solitary Man7

_A child. My child._

**7:48pm**

"_I've been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain…"_

"_Don't know that I will but until I can find me The girl who'll stay and won't play games behind me…"_

"_In the desert you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain…"_

"_I'll be what I am A solitary man…a solitary man…"_

Todd was dumped on the ground like so much garbage. He lay still, listening. John grunted as he opened the trunk to the car. Todd's arm hurt from being dragged along the ground. It annoyed him that his clothes were even dirtier now, and his once pristine gold nails were chipped, the paint flaking off like little stars. He was seriously injured but he would heal.

John had forgotten one little thing. Todd was only half human. That other part of him, the Iratus bug part of him was healing him with the enzyme. It was a slow process but it would save him. He could visualize his heart healing, the blood pumping and slowing as the tissues knitted back together. He could feel the wounds closing and binding.

What Todd needed most right now was a feeding to expedite the process.

Luckily there was food available.

John sensed it. He didn't know how as the only sound was the wind whistling around the car. There was nothing to see but darkness and blackness as the auroras faded into sparks. All the same he knew, realized his foolish mistake and turned, his hand sliding to the knife at his back. He drew it and held it out in a smooth, stabbing motion, just as Todd rose to his feet and was lunging towards him, feeding hand extended to attach and to feed.

The sucker was grossly extended and it made John's stomach twist. Bile rose in his throat at the glimpse of this pink, livid thing trembling with eagerness as it stretched towards John's exposed chest. John could feel the scars on his skin reacting, remembering the feel of those fingers and the piercing thrust of the sucker from the last time.

His heart sped up as fear was a cold wash over his skin.

There was a moment, a second when their gazes met and held, met and held. A second where each was looking eye to eye with their nemesis. Both knew it was the end. Both would fight for it not to be their own end. A calm asserted itself in both man and Wraith, now that both knew the end was coming, one way or another. It was almost a relief to be here, now, at last. To end this odd thing between them and see which would emerge victorious.

To see which of them would die this night at the hands of the other.

It had been inevitable, this final, deadly meeting. Ever since the two had met both had known it was heading here. It would come to a head in this place, this time. With the stakes high and the fate of the world in their hands. The fate of their species, even. Their own fates had been intertwined since that first meeting, that first feeding, that first interrogation.

Todd would have called it destiny.

John would have called it bad luck.

Their destiny, as Todd had foreseen those months ago when he had still been a prisoner in that blue-lit cell, and John had been reluctantly drawn into this job as his memories returned, was to see which would prove the stronger in the battle of their lives.

The battle over the planet.

The battle over Moira.

John twisted the knife, inserting it deeply into Todd's gut. He drew it upwards, cutting flesh and sinews and muscles, aiming for vital organs because the creature had an anatomy similar to humans. John figured the same injuries would be life-threatening to the creature, although he wondered since a bullet to the heart had only slowed the monster down, and not by much.

He shifted his stance, cutting up to the rib cage. Blood was spilling in a crimson gush over his hand. Todd sank to his knees, staring down at the injury as if truly surprised. John allowed himself a satisfied smile. "This has got to put you down," he snarled.

The Wraith met his gaze and merely smiled. He grabbed the knife and forced it out of him. He threw it aside with almost contemptuous disregard. He remained on his knees, staring up at John with almost rapturous admiration. "You want to kill me, John Sheppard?" He sounded wounded, as if John had hurt his feelings.

"Yeah, I would like nothing better than to fucking kill you," John growled. "Get on your fucking feet now!" He glanced round for the knife. To his consternation the Wraith had it in his hands again and was holding it upright, as if considering where best to cut the human.

Todd shook his head, as if admonishing a child. "I cannot be killed so easily, John Sheppard, don't you know that yet? Not after such a rich feeding. Not after a feeding with double import, however small. Oh? You did not know?" he asked softly. Tilting his head as if he was flirting as he drove the last nail into John Sheppard's coffin. The last thing to break him.

John tensed. He had no idea what the Wraith was talking about but as long as the Wraith was talking there was time to act. Time to figure out a way to grab that knife and somehow subdue the bastard and get him to Moira before she died. If she hadn't already died. The lack of any substantially incapacitating injuries was pissing him off. How in the hell did you disable if not kill these damn Wraith? He wished now he had read that file. "Don't know what?" he asked.

Todd chuckled. He was thoroughly enjoying this. "_Moira had a little lamb. With fleece as white as snow. And everywhere that Moira went. The lamb was sure to go._"

John stared. The nursery rhyme made no sense whatsoever. Then, like a bomb had been dropped, it did. Suddenly John knew. He knew what the rhyme meant. He knew why Moira had flinched at the words nursery rhyme. He knew why Carson had said their lives instead of her life. He knew what Moira had been trying to tell him and tell him at the facility, and why it had been awkward and difficult for her.

John realized that Moira was pregnant. Pregnant with his child.

A future he had not even believed possible filled his mind. Images of a life together, as man and wife, with a baby, a little boy, then another, a life in a house on Wind Chime Lane filling with children and he could see it all, he could see their lives uniting and a family forming and although the lilac bedroom remained the Johnny Cash poster was at least on the wall, staring down like a benevolent guardian. He could hear the laughter of little boys and the barking of a dog and could feel passionate, passionate nights with this woman who had given him her heart, had given him sons, had given him everything.

In the blink of an eye he saw it all. And saw it had all been snatched from his grasp. Saw that Moira and his child had been killed, had been killed together by the smirking, smug creature kneeling in front of him.

Both had been killed right in front of him, and he hadn't even known about the baby until it was too late. Until it was too damn late to tell her how he felt or what it meant to him.

Moira was pregnant. Pregnant with his child.

She had been pregnant with his child. Had been. Had…

Then all John saw was black.

Black.

Black.


	8. Chapter 8

Violets in Vegas: Solitary Man8

**8:00pm**

Carson kept driving.

Evan kept reaching.

Elizabeth kept pulling.

Hendricks kept calling.


	9. Chapter 9

Violets in Vegas: Solitary Man9

_Violets._

**8:02pm**

"_On the first part of the journey I was looking at all the life There were plants and birds and rocks and things there was sand and hills and rings…"_

"_I know it's been done, havin' one girl who loved me Right or wrong, weak or strong…"_

When John came to himself he was standing near his car. He stared down at his clenched fingers and slowly, slowly unfolded them with an effort. There was dirt and blood on his palms. There were bits of pale skin under his nails and he couldn't understand why. His mind was a blank. He stared down at his hands and only then did he see it.

Only then did he see the body at his feet.

Todd was sprawled on the dirt, limbs angled in every direction. Contorted, but not as contorted as his neck was. His neck was at an odd angle, twisted violently and tilted upwards at an unnatural position relative to his spine. His face was a mask of horror, pain and shock. Shock most of all, the eyes wide, the mouth open, the bluish tongue protruding.

John's fingers flexed with the sudden memory of breaking Todd's neck.

It had been swift. The second John learned about Moira's pregnancy, the second he had realized that not only he had probably lost Moira but their child as well something dark in him emerged. Something so dark and primal it rivaled the darkness of the desert night around him.

He had reacted on pure instinct. Pure rage.

He didn't feel the knife as Todd plunged it into his mid-section. He didn't feel the pain at all. He was beyond such things now as a deep and terrible grief filled him. He had wrenched the knife out of him and had dropped it to the ground.

He had taken hold of Todd's throat and head and twisted.

A single, vicious twist as his fingers dug into the pale, pale flesh.

A single, vicious twist until he heard the satisfying snap of bones and the crack of vertebrae.

He had dropped the limp body to the ground.

John blinked. He stared at his hands again. His breath was coming quickly, a panic seizing him as he just realized what he had done.

He had just killed the only chance Moira had to regain her life.

He had just killed Moira.

He had just killed the child inside her.

His child.

John fell to his knees beside the body. An agony of self-loathing and hatred filling him, making him plunge into an abyss even worse than the hatred that had caused him to kill Todd. A scream was in his head but he made not a single sound. Nothing issued from his lips.

A single tear welled in one green eye and trickled down his cheek.

He was absolutely silent.

He was absolutely still.

His gaze caught the glint of the bloody knife and for a moment he considered snatching it and finishing the job that Todd had attempted. He glanced at the blood welling under his white shirt, turning it crimson. It wasn't a killing wound. It hurt like hell but it wouldn't kill him. The fucking bastard couldn't even kill him right.

The gun would be cleaner and more efficient. He knew there were a few more bullets in the chamber. He hadn't used them all. His gaze fell upon Todd once more. He thought he saw the tiniest of motions, or was that just a trick of the dark, a trick of his mind as a delicate hope whispered in his ear?

His gaze fell upon Todd's opened hand where the sucker had retracted. It was now a limp thing, flaccid and harmless as it curled in the cocoon of tissues protecting it. John's gaze moved along the arm and he suddenly recalled the enzyme sac within the flesh. The amazing restorative and regenerative properties the enzyme had. But Todd would have to be alive for that to work. The gift of life the Wraith had called it. Todd would have to be alive to do that.

Or would he?

A glimmer of hope was a faint light at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel. Nevertheless it propelled John to his feet. He stared at the darkness.

It was very still. It was very quiet. The wind had died. There wasn't even a breeze now. The air was hot, thick, unmoving. There wasn't a sound. No bugs. No animals. Even his cell phone was at last silent. It was as if the whole world was holding its breath, waiting to see what he would do. Time seemed to have stopped.

The desert awaited his decision, and John found himself at a loss.

He could feel every bead of sweat trickling down the nape of his neck, down his sides, down his back. He could feel every ounce of blood oozing from his injuries. He could imagine the bruises forming on his body. They weren't as painful as the guilt in his mind.

He took a step, his foot stumbling over something and he looked down, expecting the body to be blocking his foot. But it wasn't the body.

It was a clump of wilting violets, dark purple blooms fading as the desert drained them.

John looked up at the sky. He stared at the engulfing blackness. There were no stars. There was no moon. The auroras were gone, a distant memory of orange and purple lights. Against the blackness a darker cloud was roiling. It was smothering everything in its inexorable path.

As John stared up at it the dark nebula parted, parted like two darkling waves on a gloomy shore. Something was emerging from the gloom, from the dark.

The front of a ship became visible. It was a pointed alien incarnation of organic and inorganic materials. Small lights flashed along its surface, revealing distant shades of gray and brown. It was a spaceship that was huge and daunting. It was a spaceship that was from another galaxy and from another reality in space/time and it had crossed into this galaxy, into this reality. It was a spaceship that could traverse vast distances and was full of hungering, loathsome creatures that longed to feed on their newest feeding ground.

Earth.

The ship parted the nebula and sailed against the dark sky.

It grew bigger. Bigger.

It grew longer as it kept coming, coming. It was a vast ship entering the atmosphere of the planet without anything to stop it. Nothing could stop it. Red lights blinked like stars along its belly. A ship that huge would hold hundreds, if not thousands of Wraith. The mind staggered at how many would be on board the vessel.

And they would all be hungry. They would all be hungry.

John stared at the ship as it broke through the clouds with silent, relentless speed. It came closer, closer. Flying with silent surety, unchallenged and unknown.

The invasion had begun.

"_It's the end of the world as we know it. It's the end of the world as we know it. It's the end of the world as we know it… And I feel fine."_

_To Be Continued…_


End file.
